


marching down

by SoloChaos



Series: go go go (one of us) [17]
Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Dreams, M/M, Nightmares, Swimming Pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 23:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2087883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloChaos/pseuds/SoloChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part XVII</p>
            </blockquote>





	marching down

"You know," Tyler says, his voice sounding very peaceful, "I used to think you were a money launderer or something."

"What?" Josh asks, somewhat amused and somewhat concerned.

"I didn't know how you made enough money," Tyler says, still floating on his back. "You know, for gas and electricity bills and food and everything on just a part time job at the Guitar Center."

"Ah," Josh says. "Nope. Just consolation money from the government."

"Yeah, I know that now," Tyler says, and Josh swims up beside him and floats in silence next to him.

It's Tyler's last day before he has to go back to work at school, and Josh kicked everyone out of his house for the day so they could spend time together without interruptions. He even treated Tyler to a not-fish lunch.

"Do you think you'll ever try to find your family?" Tyler's voice breaks the silence.

Josh considers this. He hasn't thought about this in a long time.

"Maybe," he says finally. "Maybe, I don't know."

"Do you want to?" Tyler asks, turning his head so they can see each other.

"Yeah," Josh says softly. "Yeah, I do."

Tyler nods. "I'll come with you, if you want," he offers.

Josh smiles. "Maybe."

They float in silence for a little longer before Josh finally decides he's bored and splashes Tyler.

Tyler splutters. "What the-"

He tries to splash Josh back, but Josh has already disappeared below the surface.

"...t fair! I don't have gills!" Tyler is shouting as Josh finally resurfaces.

Josh grins. "That's not my fau-agh!" He spits out water when Tyler splashes him.

"Sucker!" Tyler crows, and Josh dives down and grabs his leg, pulling him down. He only waits a few seconds before propelling Tyler back up, because he's not entirely certain how long humans can go without air.

"Jerk," Tyler mutters, wiping water off his face. He's smiling, though.

"Don't swim with sharks," Josh tells him with a snicker.

"We should do that!" Tyler says, forgetting the moment before.

"Do what?" Josh asks, bewildered by Tyler's sudden excitement.

"Swim with sharks!" Tyler says. "The aquarium offers that, you know."

"I don't think that's the best idea," Josh says.

"Come on," Tyler says, swimming up to him and placing a kiss on his jaw. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"The sharks become confused and attack," Josh says.

Tyler frowns. "They didn't seem hostile the time we went."

"We weren't in the water then," Josh points out. "There's room for plenty to go wrong, and I don't want you there if it does."

Tyler nods a bit glumly, but looks understanding. "Have you ever swam with sharks?" he asks. "Other than, you know, at the beach."

Josh is silent for a moment. "Yeah," he says lowly. "Yeah, I have."

Tyler gives him a curious look, and Josh just shakes his head. Tyler nods and goes back to floating on the water. Josh closes his eyes, dives below, and drifts off to sleep, hoping he won't dream.

He wakes up to Tyler kicking above him, peering down, and Josh smiles and swims up to him.

Tyler just looks so _pretty,_ and Josh can see himself sinking his teeth into his skin. His arm, maybe, and pull him down until he can't quite breathe and-

Oh, God.

Before Josh can think about it, he's leaping out of the pool, stuttering out an apology before dashing inside because holy fucking shit he thought he buried that what's _wrong_ with him.

He runs into the bathroom and rips off his swimsuit before jumping into the shower and turning the water on the hottest it can go. He watches his skin turn pink where the water hits it, and he wishes he could feel the pain.

Josh scrubs himself viciously, because oh god oh god he _never_ wanted to remember this, he never wanted to hurt anyone, especially Tyler.

Oh gosh, oh god, he's going to remember this for the rest of his life, he'll never escape, and he's scratches himself, trying to scrub it _off,_ and-

_"Josh!"_

Josh wakes up, and the first thing he notices is that everything smells like blood. He panics for a moment before realizing it's his own blood.

He's closer to the surface than when he fell asleep, and he senses Tyler standing at the shallower end of the pool. He can feels that Tyler's tensed, and he opens his eyes and looks up to see that Tyler is standing there looking terrified.

Josh looks around to see that there's a cloud of blood surrounding him.

"...Tyler," Josh says belatedly.

"Josh," Tyler gasps out. "What- what...?"

"Dream," Josh says flippantly, looking at his torn skin. He's pleased that Tyler obeyed him and didn't try to wake him up, at least.

"What... are you..." Tyler still looks frightened.

"...sorry," Josh says as he clambers out of the pool. "I think I have to go call Patrick."

He leaves Tyler standing there, looking lost.

**Author's Note:**

> Uh. I'm basically just filling with cryptic references for the time being. Feel free to tell me what you think.


End file.
